Patriots win their ninth, finally beat the Riverdragons
February 22, 2003 - NBA G League (G League)
Fayetteville Patriots News Release
One streak ended and another one continued on Saturday night. Devin Brown scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists to lead Fayetteville to a 94-87 win over Columbus in front of a record crowd 4,743. The win gives Fayetteville its first ever win over the Riverdragons, ending a seven-game losing streak of victory in Patriots history.
The win also earned the Patriots their ninth straight victory, improving the Patriots to 26-13 and moving them five games ahead of second-place North Charleston. The Riverdragons fall to 16-21 and move 2 ½ games behind Roanoke for the fourth and final playoff spot.
League-leading scorer Nate Johnson led the Riverdragons with 22 points and Tang Hamilton notched his 19th double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson and Hamilton combined for 18 first-half points as the Riverdragons built a 13-point lead in the second quarter.
An active zone defense and easy buckets would be the Patriots' savior. An alley-oop pass from Terrell McIntyre to Jeff Aubry for a slam dunk ignited a 13-4 run that pulled the Patriots to within four at halftime, 47-33.
"Their zone really put us back on our heels. It took our transition away,'' said Fayetteville Patriots coach Jeff Capel. "To be honest, the zone was working so well for them, I went zone. With that, they missed some shots and we were able to get out in transition and beat the zone."
The Patriots defense would carry over into the second half. Fayetteville capitalized on three straight steals to start the half. The third steal, which was caused by Jeff Aubry, led to a Jason Capel slam dunk that gave the Patriots a 48-47 lead. They never trailed again.
"We just broke down,'' Riverdragons coach Jeff Malone said. "Our guys couldn't handle their pressure. We got disoriented and Fayetteville did a great job of putting pressure on us. I watched my guys fade. They couldn't handle it. I think we played three quarters and at the end of the third we just got a little fragile."
Terrell McIntyre, who had 13 points and 10 assists, put the game away when he found Brown cutting to the basket for an uncontested layup that gave Fayetteville an 86-74 lead with 4:51 remaining. The Patriots 13-point rally is the largest deficit they have overcome to earn a victory this season.
McIntyre recorded his third career double-double and center Jameel Watkins recorded 15 rebounds. The Patriots held the Riverdragons to just 33 percent shooting in the second half. The Patriots were the last team to not have a win over another NBDL team. They ended that distinction Saturday night.
"I wanted to beat these guys at least once,'' said Patriots guard Omar Cook who had four steals Saturday. "But we're just building, trying to win every game we can."
NBA G League Stories from February 22, 2003
- Patriots win their ninth, finally beat the Riverdragons - Fayetteville Patriots
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